JPH0546645U - Steering wheel relay structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To reduce the number of parts, simplify mounting work, and reduce manufacturing costs. A lower contact ring 7 that is in contact with a contact pin P1 is provided on the lower surface of the boss portion 2, and an upper contact ring 15 including a leaf spring 17 and a current-carrying portion 18 is arranged directly above the lower contact ring 7. Further, the pad 3 is snap-engaged with the boss portion 2 by the pin 13 extending downward from the pad 3. Then, when the pad 3 is pressed downward, the leaf spring 17 is pressed by the pin 13,
It is elastically deformed against its own biasing force and directly contacts the lower contact ring 7. At this time, since the leaf spring 17 is integrally formed with the upper contact ring 15, the lower contact ring 7 and the upper contact ring 1 are
And 5 are electrically connected.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a relay structure for a steering wheel, and more particularly, to a relay structure such as a horn switch provided on a steering wheel.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, as this type of technology, for example, the one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-22817 is known. In this publication, as shown in FIG. 5, a steering wheel pad (hereinafter referred to as a pad) 32 having a horn switch function is provided at the center of a steering wheel 31. As shown in FIG. 6, the pad 32 is arranged above the boss portion 35 provided around the boss 34 at the upper end of the steering shaft 33.

A coil spring 37 is provided between the boss portion 35 and the pad 32. Then, due to the urging force of the coil spring 37, the rod-shaped movable contact 39 extending from the supporting plate 38 on the lower surface of the pad 32 and the fixed contact 40 provided on the boss portion 35 and contacting the contact pin P are normally in mutual contact. It is designed to be separated. When the pad 32 is pressed downward, the support plate 38 and the movable contact 39 are pressed down against the urging force of the coil spring 37, and the tip of the movable contact 39 contacts the fixed contact 40. .. Therefore, the movable contact 39 and the fixed contact 40 are electrically connected to each other, and the current from the contact pin P is connected to the earth ring 41 grounded via the fixed contact 40, the movable contact 39, the support plate 38, and the coil spring 37. Flow, resulting in the horn being blown.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, the conventional relay structure requires at least many members such as the contact pin P 1, the fixed contact 40, the movable contact 39, the support plate 38, the coil spring 37, and the earth ring 41, resulting in an increase in the number of parts. Was. Therefore, it takes time to mount each of these parts, and the manufacturing cost is high.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to reduce the number of parts, simplify the mounting work, and reduce the manufacturing cost. It is to provide a relay structure for the pad.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, a pad disposed on the boss portion of the steering wheel and snap-engaged with the boss portion so as to be movable up and down, and extends through the boss portion. The protrusion formed on the pad and the lower part of the boss are concentrically arranged. One of them has a fixed contact, and the other one contacts a contact pin for power supply provided on the vehicle body side. Normally, it is integrally formed with two metal rings that are separated from each other and a metal ring that does not have the fixed contact and extends above the metal ring that has the fixed contact. , An elastic portion that has a movable contact and that elastically deforms itself when the pad is pressed by pressing the protruding portion and allows an electrical connection between the movable contact and the fixed contact. And gist relay structure of the steering wheel with.

[0007]

[Action]

 According to the above configuration, normally, the two metal rings are separated from each other, and when the pad is pressed, the protrusion presses the elastic part, and the elastic part having the movable contact is elastically deformed by itself, and the movable contact and Electrical connection between fixed contacts is allowed.

Further, both of the two metal rings are easily arranged at the lower part of the boss portion, and since one of the metal rings is in contact with the contact pin for power supply, it is used as a so-called slip ring and wiring. , The relay mechanism is simplified.

Further, the pad is snap-engaged with the boss portion so as to be able to easily and reliably move up and down.

[0010]

[Effect of the device]

 According to the steering wheel relay structure of the present invention, the number of parts can be reduced, and the installation work can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[0011]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a steering wheel of a gasoline vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a relay structure of a steering wheel in this embodiment. Further, FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing a state in which the steering wheel is viewed from below. In FIG. 1, the steering wheel 1 includes a boss portion 2 and a pad 3 provided on the boss portion 2. The boss portion 2 is attached around a metal boss 5 fixed around the upper end of the steering shaft 4, and a metal insert 6 is provided inside the boss portion 2 to reinforce the boss portion 2. There is.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface of the boss portion 2, an annular fixed contact and a lower contact ring 7 as a metal ring are fixed by screws 8 at three points. The lower contact ring 7 is in contact with a power supply contact pin P1 provided on the vehicle body side, and is always energized to the positive electrode.

Further, in FIG. 1, the pad 3 provided on the upper portion of the boss portion 2 includes a pad portion 9 and a cup portion 10. A mounting hole 11 is formed on the side surface of the pad portion 9, while a protrusion 12 is formed on the side surface of the cup portion 10. The pad portion 9 is fixed to the cup portion 10 by fitting the protrusion 12 into the mounting hole 11. The cup portion 10 is integrally formed with three pins 13 as a protrusion having a diameter-expanded portion 13a at the lower end thereof so as to extend downward. On the other hand, through holes 14 are formed at three places in the boss portion 2, and a projection 14a is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface in the middle of the through holes 14. The pin 13 penetrates through the through hole 14 and is fitted into the boss portion 2, and the enlarged diameter portion 13a thereof is positioned below the protrusion 14a. That is, the pad 3 is snap-engaged by the pin 13 so as to be vertically movable with respect to the boss portion 2.

Above the lower contact ring 7, there is provided an upper contact ring 15 as an annular metal ring in a state of being spaced apart from the lower contact ring 7. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper contact ring 15 is made of metal, and the plate body 16 having a diameter larger than that of the lower contact ring 7 and the plate body 16 may be positioned slightly higher than the plate body 16. An elastic portion which is integrally formed at a place and has an arcuate shape along the inner circumference of the plate body 16, a leaf spring 17 as a movable contact, and a current-carrying portion 18 which projects from the plate body 16 toward the center. Is equipped with. Then, the upper contact ring 15 is fixed to the boss portion 2 by a set screw 19 at the root of each leaf spring 17. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in the energizing portion 18, a screw 20 is fastened to the insert 6, and the upper contact ring 15 is always grounded via the screw 20, the insert 6 and the boss 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end of the pin 13 is in contact with the upper surface of the tip of the leaf spring 17, and the pad 3 is biased upward by the biasing force of the leaf spring 17. ..

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In normal times, the pad 3 is biased upward by the leaf spring 17 formed integrally with the upper contact ring 15, and the electrical connection between the upper contact ring 15 and the lower contact ring 7 is cut off.

On the other hand, when the pad portion 9 of the pad 3 is pressed downward, the leaf spring 17 is elastically deformed against its own biasing force and directly contacts the lower contact ring 7. At this time, since the leaf spring 17 is formed integrally with the upper contact ring 15, the lower contact ring 7 and the upper contact ring 15 are electrically connected. Therefore, the current from the lower contact ring 7 flows through the leaf spring 17, the upper contact ring 15, the energization portion 18, the screw 20, the insert 6 and the boss 5, and as a result, the horn is blown.

As described above in detail, in this embodiment, since the leaf spring 17 is integrally formed with the upper contact ring 15, the relay structure is constituted mainly by only the upper contact ring 15 and the lower contact ring 7. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, and it is possible to simplify the mounting work and reduce the cost.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper contact ring 15 having the leaf spring 17 and the current-carrying portion 18 can be easily formed by punching a metal plate. Therefore, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, all the essential components such as the upper contact ring 15 and the lower contact ring 7 that are essential for constructing the relay structure are attached from the lower surface of the boss portion 2. The mountability can be improved, and as a result, the mounting work can be further simplified.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the pad 3 is snap-engaged with the boss portion 2 by the pin 13 so as to be vertically movable, the pad 3 can be easily and surely attached.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be configured as follows, for example, within the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the present invention is embodied in the steering wheel pad of a gasoline vehicle, but the invention can be applied to other than that, for example, an electric vehicle. In this case, the screw 20 is not provided, that is, the upper contact ring 15 is not grounded and is connected to the contact pin P2 on the negative electrode side as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. do it.

(2) In the above embodiment, the three pins 13 are provided on the pad 3 to press the upper contact ring 15, but the shape may not be a pin shape, but may be a simple protrusion. .. Further, the number is not limited to three, and may be one, two, or four or more.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a relay structure of a steering wheel in an embodiment embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an upper contact ring in one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing a state where the steering wheel is viewed from below in one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a steering wheel for explaining an energization portion of an upper contact ring in one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a steering wheel in a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a steering wheel in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Steering wheel, 2 ... Boss part, 3 ... Pad,
7 ... Fixed contact, lower contact ring as metal ring, 13 ... Pin as protrusion, 15 ... Upper contact ring as metal ring, 17 ... Movable contact, leaf spring as elastic portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A pad (3) which is disposed on a boss portion (2) of a steering wheel (1) and which is snap-engaged with the boss portion (2) so as to be vertically movable, and the boss portion ( 2) a protrusion (13) formed on the pad (3) so as to extend therethrough, and concentrically arranged at a lower portion of the boss (2), one of which has a fixed contact, and one of which has a fixed contact. One of them is a contact pin (P1) provided on the vehicle body for power supply.
And two metal rings (7, 15) that are normally in contact with each other and are spaced apart from each other, and the metal ring (7, 15) extends above the metal ring (7) having the fixed contact. The movable ring is integrally formed on the metal ring (15) having no fixed contact, and when the pad (3) is pressed, the pad (3) is elastically deformed by the pressing of the protrusion (13), and the movable ring is moved. A relay structure for a steering wheel, comprising: an elastic portion (17) that allows electrical connection between a contact and a fixed contact.